Climate sensitivity of conifer growth doesn’t reveal distinct low–high dipole along the elevation gradient in the Wolong National Natural Reserve,SW China

Recent climate warming is usually hypothesized to cause tree growth decline in the semi-arid regions where forests are particularly vulnerable to warming induced increases of water deficit. But there is still a large knowledge gap of climate warming effects on tree growth of cold temperate forest in the sub-humid region. Here we assess how climate warming has affected tree growth in the Wolong National Natural Reserve, Southwestern China, where recent warming might not cause tree growth decline because of the cold-humid climatic conditions. Tree-ring data from four co-dominant coniferous species (Larix potaninii var. macrocarpa, Tsuga chinensis, Abies faxoniana and Juniperus saltuaria) along an elevation gradient (from 2700 m to 3700 m) all imprinted temperature signals, and were both positively and significantly correlated with instrumental record of temperature data during the analyzed period of 1954–2010. Furthermore, the rising temperature since 1980 induced pervasive tree growth increases and stronger temperature signals for the coniferous species along the elevation gradient. The tree-ring chronology recorded a strong coherence with instrumental temperature since 1980 and was successful to keep up with the pace of climate warming rate. If climate warming continues, further increases in forest growth could be expected, and the terrestrial carbon sink will be strengthened for the local forest ecosystem in the future.     

Dendroclimatic potential of dendroanatomy in temperature-sensitive Pinus sylvestris

The most frequently and successfully used tree-ring parameters for the study of temperature variations are ring width and maximum latewood density (MXD). MXD is preferred over ring width due to a more prominent association with temperature. In this study we explore the dendroclimate potential of dendroanatomy based on the first truly well replicated dataset. Twenty-nine mature living Pinus sylvestris trees were sampled in North-eastern Finland at the cool and moist boreal forest zone, close to the latitudinal tree line, where ring width, X-ray MXD as well as the blue intensity counterpart MXBI were compared with dendroanatomical parameters. Maximum radial cell wall thickness as well as anatomical MXD and latewood density appeared to be the most promising parameters for temperature reconstruction. In fact, these parameters compare favorably to MXD derived from X-ray techniques as well as MXBI, in terms of shared variation and temperature correlations across frequencies and over time. The reasons for these results are thought to be the unprecedentedly high measurement resolution of the anatomical technique, which provide the optimal resolution – the cell – whereas X-ray techniques have a slightly lower resolution and BI techniques even lower. While the results of this study are encouraging, further tests on longer and multigenerational chronologies are required to more generally and fully assess the dendroclimate potential of anatomical parameters.     

Host‐plant range expansion to Gymnocladus dioica by an introduced seed predatory beetle Megabruchidius dorsalis

A seed predatory beetle, Megabruchidius dorsalis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) native to the Oriental region was first found to utilize a North American Gymnocladus dioica (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae) in its introduced area in Central Europe. A maximum of three adult exit holes were found on a single seed. Host‐plants of the bruchine beetle have been reviewed from its native and introduced regions, including a host record of Gleditsia fera from Taiwan. Our review indicated the beetle's strict oligophagy on caesalpinioid Gleditsia species. On the contrary, our finding suggests that the beetle's host‐range extends to the caesalpinioid Umtiza clade. On the plant side, this study provides a counterexample to the enemy release hypothesis that predicts fewer predators/parasites in an organism's range of introduction than in their native range; Gy. dioica is attacked by the seed predator in its introduced region, whereas in its native range it is free from seed predators.     

Heterogeneity–diversity relationships in sessile organisms: a unified framework

The hypothesis that environmental heterogeneity promotes species richness by increasing opportunities for niche partitioning is a fundamental paradigm in ecology. However, recent studies suggest that heterogeneity–diversity relationships (HDR) are more complex than expected from this niche‐based perspective, and often show a decrease in richness at high levels of heterogeneity. These findings have motivated ecologists to propose new mechanisms that may explain such deviations. Here we provide an overview of currently recognised mechanisms affecting the shape of HDRs and present a conceptual model that integrates all previously proposed mechanisms within a unified framework. We also translate the proposed framework into an explicit community dynamic model and use the model as a tool for generating testable predictions concerning how landscape properties interact with species traits in determining the shape of HDRs. Our main finding is that, despite the enormous complexity of such interactions, the predicted HDRs are rather simple, ranging from positive to unimodal patterns in a highly consistent and predictable manner.     

Unexpected larval habit of Listronotus bonariensis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) raises questions about population dynamics analysis and management

Listronotus bonariensis (Kuschel) is a pest of agriculturally important graminaceous species, with mining larvae that kill the stems of the host plants. In this study, larval populations were measured in spring and summer in irrigated dairy grassland comprising Lolium perenne L. (cv. Nui) with and without the endophyte Epichloë festucae var. lolii Latch, M.J. Chr. and Samuels and Poa annua L.. Larvae were extracted from tillers taken from the swards of these two grass species and extracted from turves, and L. bonariensis population densities were estimated from tiller and turf larval counts on a m⁻² basis. Over the study period, the total number of larvae and larval densities extracted from turves was on average 2× greater than indicated from tillers. In most seasons, larval densities from turves were significantly higher than those from the tillers, though there was no correlation between tiller and turf larval densities. Mean head capsule widths of larvae emerging from turf samples showed significant seasonal effects compared with tillers, while mean head capsule widths of all four instars were significantly greater when extracted from tillers compared with turves. There was a significant endophyte effect on head capsule widths of larvae collected in summer, but the effect was not consistent across instars or source. Conversely, no significant endophyte effect on head capsule width was found in spring populations from either tillers or turves. This study shows that in irrigated dairy pasture, a high proportion of L. bonariensis larvae can live externally of tillers, presumably among the organic matter around the base of grasses in irrigated dairy pasture, and that density estimates based only on tiller populations will have significantly underestimated actual numbers. Having a precise indication of larval population densities is essential when developing life tables or determining economic damage threshold levels.     

桂林岩溶石山常绿落叶阔叶混交林乔木层优势物种生态位研究

采用样方法对不同资源位群落进行调查,通过冗余分析（RDA）结合Monte Carlo随机置换检验筛选出对桂林岩溶石山常绿落叶阔叶混交林乔木层优势物种分布影响显著的土壤资源轴（土壤有机质、土壤水溶钙、土壤速效氮、土壤全氮、土壤pH值和土壤厚度）。利用Levins生态位宽度指数和Pianka生态位重叠指数对桂林岩溶石山常绿落叶阔叶混交林乔木层14个优势物种在土壤有机质、土壤水溶钙、土壤速效氮、土壤全氮、土壤pH值和土壤厚度6个土壤资源轴上的生态位特征进行研究。结果表明：（1）在土壤有机质和土壤水溶钙资源轴上,生态位宽度最大值为常绿物种檵木（0.89、0.94）;在土壤pH值资源轴上,生态位宽度最大值为常绿物种粗糠柴（0.96）;在土壤速效氮、土壤全氮和土壤厚度资源轴上,生态位宽度最大值为落叶物种南酸枣（0.87、0.99、0.97）。（2）14个优势物种在6个土壤资源轴上,生态位重叠均值由大到小依次为土壤厚度 > 土壤全氮 > 土壤水溶钙 > 土壤速效氮 > 土壤pH值 > 土壤有机质,且均表现为常绿物种与常绿物种形成的种对生态位重叠均值（0.84） > 常绿物种与落叶物种（0.74） > 落叶物种与落叶物种（0.66）。（3）综合6个土壤资源轴,生态位重叠值≥0.5的种对高达480对,占总种对数的87.91%,暗示桂林岩溶石山常绿落叶阔叶混交林乔木层优势物种在资源匮乏且资源异质性高的特殊生境中存在激烈竞争,且乔木层种间关系相对不稳定。     

基于雪岭云杉树轮宽度重建过去339年天山中部巴音布鲁克地区夏季NDVI

归一化差异植被指数(NDVI)被广泛应用于植被研究的各个领域,但由于观测时长较短,难以满足长时间尺度的研究需要。基于巴音布鲁克地区雪岭云杉建立了树轮宽度年表(STD),计算年表和NDVI同气象观测数据的相关系数。结果表明:树轮宽度指数和NDVI均与同时段的气象数据具有显著相关。结合宽度年表与6—8月NDVI间的显著正相关(r=0.7,P＜0.01,n=38),使用回归模型重建了研究区过去339年的夏季(6—8月)NDVI变化序列,在1680—2018年,重建序列有4个高植被覆盖时段(1738—1765、1786—1798、1964—1973和2000—2018年)和5个低植被覆盖时段(1690—1714、1825—1834、1850—1880、1895—1920和1945—1955年)。重建结果也反映了天山中部水文气候。与周边重建的对比显示,当开都河径流量增加,且研究区处于较为潮湿的环境时,植被覆盖相对较高,反之植被覆盖偏低。重建序列的极值也捕捉了历史文献中一系列自然灾害。混合单粒子拉格朗日综合轨迹模型(HYSPLT)后向轨迹模型和风场分析表明,NDVI异常受到西风带来的降水影响。     

When the exception becomes the rule: The disappearance of limiting similarity in the Lotka-Volterra model

We investigate the transition between limiting similarity and coexistence of a continuum in the competitive Lotka-Volterra model. It is known that there exist exceptional cases in which, contrary to the limiting similarity expectation, all phenotypes coexist along a trait axis. Earlier studies established that the distance between surviving phenotypes is in the magnitude of the niche width 2σ provided that the carrying capacity curve differs from the exceptional one significantly enough. In this paper we studied the outcome of competition for small perturbations of the exceptional (Gaussian) carrying capacity. We found that the average distance between the surviving phenotypes goes to zero when the perturbation vanishes. The number of coexisting species in equilibrium is proportional to the negative logarithm of the perturbation. Nevertheless, the niche width provides a good order of magnitude for the distance between survivors if the perturbations are larger than 10%. Therefore, we conclude that limiting similarity is a good framework of biological thinking despite the lack of an absolute lower bound of similarity.     

Bioluminescence emissions of the firefly <Emphasis Type="Italic">Luciola praeusta</Emphasis> Kiesenwetter 1874 (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae)

We recorded the in vivo emission and time-resolved spectra of the firefly Luciola praeusta Kiesenwetter 1874 (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae). The emission spectrum shows that the full width at half maximum (FWHM) value for this particular species is 55 nm, which is significantly narrower than the in vivo half-widths reported till now. The time-resolved spectrum reveals that a flash of about 100 ms duration is, in fact, composed of a number of microsecond pulses. This suggests that the speed of the enzyme-catalysed chemiluminescence reaction in the firefly for the emission of light is much faster than was previously believed. A version of this article has already appeared in an archive Nature Precedings; see     

GnRH拮抗剂在超促排卵中的应用

目的:比较GnRH拮抗剂与GnRH激动剂促排卵方案的临床应用效果.方法:比较GnRH拮抗剂与GnRH激动剂方案及GnRH拮抗剂方案妊娠组与非妊娠组的HCG日子宫内膜厚度及E2水平、受精率、可用胚胎率、着床率、临床妊娠率、流产率等.结果:GnRH拮抗剂与GnRH激动剂方案的临床资料无统计学差异,GnRH拮抗剂方案妊娠组血E2水平及可用胚胎率明显高于非妊娠组,差异具有统计学意义.结论:GnRH拮抗剂方案中卵泡后期血E2上升缓慢或停滞,血HCG日E2明显偏低,提示妊娠结局不良.但是,GnRH拮抗剂是否对子宫内膜及胚胎有影响仍需进一步研究.